Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T: First Windows Phone 7.5 handset pictures and hands-on

HTC Titan stand down, Samsung Omnia W step aside, there's only one handset that can lay claim to being the first ever Windows Phone 7.5, aka Mango, device and it's the Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T - a smartphone born out of a partnership between the two Japanese electronics giants.

The IS12T was announced back in July and takes its design inspiration from a Japan-only Android handset, the Regza T-01C, but the phone is proof that copying isn't always a bad thing to do.

And that's because it's a lovely looking handset, that looks almost fourth-gen iPod nano-esque with its brightly coloured brushed aluminium finish (yellow, pink or black), with a rubber black trim thrown in for a bit of ruggedness.

And, rugged it is - the phone is both water and dust proof - although we didn't fully test those claims out. We don't think the DoCoMo rep would have liked it if we'd dunked it in our drink.

This toughness doesn't seem to come at a cost either. The IS12T is fairly lightweight at 113g and measures a less-than-bulky 118 x 59 x 10.6mm, with a 3.7-inch, 480 x 800, LCD capacitive touchscreen packed in too.

But it's the spec sheet that really stands out. Whilst it doesn't quite reach the crazy heights of the HTC Titan's 1.5GHz power - it packs a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8655 along with Adreno 205 graphics - it blows the Windows Phone competition out of the water when it comes to the camera.

In fact, it blows pretty much any smartphone out of the water in this area. It packs a 13.2-megapixel autofocus snapper with an LED flash, CMOS sensor and boasts 720p HD video recording too.

There's no front facing camera though, which is a bummer with the video conferencing facilities afforded by Mango, but it does contain a very healthy 32GB of onboard storage.

There are no plans for a release outside of Japan, which is a damn shame as the IS12T is an absolutely gorgeous Windows Phone 7 handset. However, it is a global phone with both CDMA and GSM onboard, so you could always get one shipped in if it has really taken your fancy.

It's available in Japan through DoCoMo now.